maypirate

In the realm of things that are not bad and actually awesome...

THERE IS STILL A WEEK TO SIGN UP FOR THE KIRK/SULU NON-DENOMINATIONAL HOLIDAY EXCHANGE!!!

Offer fics or art! Receive fics or art! Tell your friends, tell your enemies (if they like Kirk/Sulu), spread the happiness and the love!



Kikipups and ice cream thank you for your time. :)

Now that I've been eerily silent for a week, I feel like I should try to learn to talk again. Or write. I dunno, I seem to be bad at both of these things, but I feel like I just haven't had much of interest to say.

You get a bullet point list, I'm sorry for that, it happens when I fall behind.

-Life continues apace with feels_like_fire. She joined me for Yoga last week, which I need because without a yoga buddy I'm less inclined to go, so hopefully she'll keep me on track.

-Last weekend, jou and I went to a Quilt Expo and attended a lecture on Esty shops and then bought many a craft good.

-Tuesday I walked around for three hours hanging up flyers to try to attract new students and such. It was mostly all right- it was a beautiful day and I didn't really have to talk to anyone, although I did have one unpleasant conversation with a total asshole and eventually my feet feel badly magical. I probably walked at least three miles, all over campus and then back to my apartment.

-...where jou, sail_aweigh and thistlerose awaited me, and we had dinner and talked about all kinds of things and stuff and it was good to see Rachel before she disappeared into the wilds of Maryland. I even got to meet her cats.

-I've been meaning to post about this since I found out, but I'm super slow: ( my store is moving. )

-I watched "X-Men: First Class" again and came to the same conclusion: I like Magneto. The end.

-It's almost the High Holidays, and also starsandgraces will be here soon and we will make all the food in the world.

-The library downtown is moving so Friday infinityduck and a friend from work went to their sale and I got a stack of old teen and cooking magazines, a book on guinea pigs, one book that's so awesome I have to scan it, and one giant "Textbook of Medicine" for the fantastic price of about $3.

-Last night I watched harukaceles make a yakisoba recipe, and we finished "RuPaul's Drag Race" and everyone was beautiful.

-As far as anything creative, though, I've felt awful and unfocused and I tried to write yesterday and it was terrible and I spent most of the weekend just being a giant shlub and maybe I needed that because I feel like I'm constantly on the move but urgh. Apparently I'm only allowed two weeks of creativity and then a month and a half of feeling like an inept failure, which is lame because now I actually have a deadline and I never should have said anything about my stbb because I probably jinxed myself and why am I so bad at fandom adskfhsdkjfs everything is flies forever.

-But I did build a shelf and seven drawers while drinking wine and watching B-movies. So that was good. But I gave myself an awesome blister on the palm of my right hand. Which is not so good. I guess it evens out or something, blar.

This was a very long and boring entry so here is a gamerpig for your time

So some of you knew this and some of you didn't and some of you don't care but anyway, I uh... I actually signed up for startrekbigbang again this year.

And um...tonight I submitted my first draft. And it's partly the story I failed at hardcore last year, only now with more Kirk/Sulu all over everything.

I don't even know how it happened or if I'll jinx it by talking about it but I'm just. I can't. What? How did this happen? I'm cold and there are wolves after me.

I feel both great awe and terror at so many things, but also just a little bit like this spider:



So, uh...that's all.

@.@

I'll go to bed now.

So I don't have a fabulous med school dean-granted job, but um...I have a great personal reference? I dunno, long way to go. I've also learned that since I'm a manager, apparently I'm supposed to give a month's notice before I leave, which um...I'm not sure what to do about that, since how can I leave if I don't have another job, but how can I get another job if I'm not allowed to leave in a timely fashion? I need to sort this shit out.

But in the realm of sorting things out, a somewhat more easy (if time-consuming) task has been cleaning my house for the arrival of feels_like_fire. It's probably the most thorough cleaning I've done since I moved in, and it included rearranging all the kitchen cabinets, the linen closet, and my book shelves. And that was just what I did from 10 pm - 3 am Thursday night.

Except for the part where I went to the eye doctor and had my eyes dilated, I spent all yesterday cleaning too. Then infinityduck and I went to get Thai food and I was so braindead that he kept laughing at me, so I went to bed early. And yet even so...it is not quite complete. Ai-ya.

Anyway, because I know the answers to these things, having been intimately occupied with them for the past day, here is a home-related meme from moons_creations:

( This is where I continue to live... )

Maybe later I'll actually upload pictures of my dwelling, but I can't from the work computer.

Here is a guinea pig named Wilson for your time:

Man, last week happened and I didn't really accomplish much of anything. I'm in a terrible creative drought (I know, but worse than usual, really) and I mostly just lay around and watched "Spartacus: Sex and Profanity" and poked at "Fruit Ninja" and "Bejeweled" on the Kikipod.

To spare everyone the whining, I'll get it over with quickly: boo boo boo I suck at fandom and I'll never write or be creative again everything sucks.

Anyway.

I promised the tale of jou and I dumpster diving last week, and so it shall be. We wandered far and wide, from the frats and co-ops to university-type housing, up and down hills, across the Square. But the journey itself is not as interesting as what we found (the things we actually kept are denoted with a "*"):

-Some posters, one of a famous painting of a guy standing on a cliff over the sea*
-A stairstep basket*
-A half-used bottle of lube
-A still-working finger vibrator (don't worry, we were wearing rubber gloves)
-At least four microwaves
-Shoes that were way too big
-Ants. Oh god, ants.
-A vodka bottle shaped like an assault rifle
-Old underwear, both men's and women's, including bras of all kinds and at least one thong
-A bunch of empty DVD cases
-Lots of bathroom products: shampoo, sponges, soaps, etc.
-A dark blue hoodie with a faded star pattern*
-A yellow "California" shirt (from Cal Berkeley)*
-5 beer pitchers from the student union that can be redeemed for $1 each*
-A blank wooden plaque suitable for crafting*
-Small pictures for collaging*
-2 garlands of fake flowers*
-2 beer glasses from local bars*
-Slipper-shoe things*
-3 perfectly good dresses*
-1 brown flowy peasant skirt*
-1 lacy dress thing with a top that turned out to be really stretched out but maybe can be fixed*
-A blouse*
-Lounge pants*
-A tan shirt with a silver sequined collar* (I'm wearing it right now!)
-A good pair of black sketchers slip on shoes*
-A Mortal Kombat comic book from the early 90's* (it was given as a present to infinityduck)
-Rotting meat saran-wrapped to a plate and sdhfskdhks it was so awful we both screamed
-Lots and lots of (generally meat-free) dishes
-Some good coffee tables
-Furniture that seemed like it could have been donated but no, college kids are wasteful
-A book on architectural design*
-A box of 2010-2011 day planners
-Lots of old notebooks, course papers, etc (but sadly no textbooks that could be turned in for dollars)
-A picture frame*
-More old condiments/kitchen cabinet goods/empty liquor bottles than can ever really be counted

I'm sure there was more, but that's all I can really remember. The horrormeat was notable, as was the working vibrator. By the end we were very tired and had drinks with infinityduck, then went home to collapse. It was probably my most productive "Hippie Christmas" in several years and I was glad for the company since last year I had to do it on my own.

I have all of one day off from now until Sept. 2nd, and I intend to use it to clean all the things since feels_like_fire will be moving in prooobably this coming weekend. She is my new Danielle, only taller and more actually around! It will be an adventure no doubt. I wish I could help her drive across the country, but sadly, there is acid to be mined.

I started an entry earlier but then my boss came in early for her dumb face and I couldn't finish it and now I'm tired and my internet is the speed of a severely impaired snail and I don't have the mental or emotional energy to shout at a fucking automated voice menu right now.

Here's a list of some things from the past few days of me, I'll elaborate on at least one of them in the future:

-I started watching "Spartacus: Sex and Profanity Blood and Sand" over the weekend, then passed it on to jou and now we are both entranced by the violence and the filth they say and the trashy delicious drama. :)
-My brand new headphones from Otakon broke before I ever got to use them. :(
-I got charged almost $300 for two allergy appointments, thanks American healthcare system. :(
-I snapped at a woman on the phone because of the stupid American healthcare system and she didn't deserve it. :(
-I cried about bills. :(
-jou and I went dumpster diving. :)
-I called the place I applied to and the woman on the phone wasn't very nice and it made me wonder if every local business has some kind of horrible troll owner, because the ones I've worked for so far definitely do and now I am so much less excited about the job but I doubt I'll get it. :(
-I cried about my job prospects. :(
-I got a haircut finally. :)
-I did not win $5000 from the grocery store. :(
-I got myself a piece of cake to feel better. :)
-Really, I can't even post a fucking comment on LJ? My guinea pig tumblr won't load? What the hell am I paying for, Charter?! >(
-jou gave me her old ipod touch, which was actually feels_like_fire's old ipod touch. It's kind of like giving a salamander a forklift - my ineptitude with it knows no bounds. But I did name it "Kikipod" and gave it a Kirk/Sulu wallpaper. :)
-There is the 2nd Annual Sulu Fest going on but um...it's the middle of the week and I have no time. :(

So really it all evens out to something like this:



In the future I'll tell the magical tale of Bearz and Burrz and the Great Trash-Looting Adventure, but right now I think I just need to go to bed.

Last week seemed so tremendously busy or something. I'm not sure I got home before 8 pm any day but Friday, and that was because I skittered out of work early and then fell asleep.

But I went to the gym, cleaned out the super disgusting fridge at work, nearly went catatonic in a meeting with my boss where she just talked and talked and talked about her newest money-making venture that sounds (as usual) like a terrible idea, got to eat at a new dumpling restaurant, saw HP 7.2 and drank a rum and coke simultaneously (I am harcore), and gave a bachelorette party.

( In regards to ye olde Harry Potter... )

To be honest, though, my favorite part may have been the soundtrack. I really dug that. I will have to find a place from which to procure it for not so many dollars.

And yes, I did mention a bachelorette party. It was for monkeybobert and it was a good time, even though we opted not to try to go to a strip club because we are cheap and didn't want to pay a cover charge or deal with a drink minimum. Instead there was not-Japanese-Japanese-food, saketinis, funny hats, a porn store with $1 cock rings that we wore like actual rings, pie with exorbitant amounts of oreos, then crafts while we watched bad "sexy(?)" movies. I will have to get the pictures. I considered it a great success, and much less intense and taxing than going out all night in New York. I think we were all tired by midnight. :F

And then my parents came back from England and brought the pigs fabulous presents from Harrods and a stuffed "plague rat" for me. They know me so well.

Now it is Monday and I'm totally going to yoga this week. For real.

So my story of Otakon goes something like this.

Despite my plans on getting to the airport in time to get our bags on the plane (which meant we got up at 3:15 and left at 4), the security line was incredibly long and terribly slow, such that I was certain we were going to miss the flight. We finally made it through just as they started paging us, and Chris ran ahead to tell them we were coming, while I grabbed all our stuff and then ran with it. In retrospect, we really should have done it the other way around, because I thought I might have my very fist asthma attack.

But we made it.

And eventually we got to D.C., from which yawmin retrieved us. There was gumbo and Rita's. Thursday we drove to Baltimore and accidentally took the scenic route. We folded shirts in accordance with prophecy and surprisingly didn't have to wait in line for the Japanese restaurant.

Friday morning was when I realized that in my incredible brilliance, I had failed to pack half of my button parts. I had thought that the fronts and backs were in a bag together, but nope. Just a bag of the backs. And so I prepared myself for a button-less con, when infinityduck found a kind girl who shared her button parts and they lasted me all through the weekend. It was amazing. I owe her a squid and so much more.

And then I drew forever, because no one wanted the buttons I brought with me, just commissions. Here are some of the things I drew:

-12 My Little Pony ponies, all for one guy (I thus learned the term "Brony")
-Kurt and whatshisboyfriend from Glee
-5 Llamas with hats
-Some "Drrrr" yaoi that wasn't supposed to be yaoi because the girl wanted to give it to her dad such that he wouldn't know it was yaoi? I don't even know what was going on there.
-Sailor Moon
-Several people at the con
-A tardis
-David Tennant
-Castiel from SPN
-Fire-nation Zutara
-A bunch of original characters
-The perennial "Ed eating cake" button
-A Dolfie
-Diva Charlotte
-Fai and Kurogane from Tsubasa as a doctor and nurse, respectively
-Fai by himself
-A submarine sandwich
-Other stuff I don't remember

My fancy new uniformed Spock doll had many admirers, but no one bought him, so in the end he went home with Aja. I did sell Mystique, though, and to a person on LJ!

Admidst this there was bubble tea, lots of fried food from the concessions, visiting with junemermaid and moonscreations and a few trips to the dealer's room. This was actually the first con in years where I bought no Asuka-related goods. It was very strange.

And then eventually, we came back home. And I spent Monday sleeping forever. I had a good time, although it seemed to last barely any time at all. Chris had a good time too, and that was important, as it was his first con and initially I was all worried and stuff.

And so it passed.

( And here are some pictures. )

Stay tuned for a totally ridiculous Charlotte-related recap, because I had an idea and then I ran with it and it got out of hand the end.

I had yesterday off. It was amazing. I cleaned my house, and then I pretty much just slept forever. I also did some sewing and ate delicious pulled pork. It was a successful day and I finally feel rested for the first time all week.

I often fall off the webs on the weekends, but this time I may extra fall off, and that's because I'm trying to sew everything in the world to take to Otakon.

So here is my plan for today:



From left to right:
Top row - bunny with weird hat, Mystique, bunny with frog hat, Spock
Middle row - Uhura, pink birddd, Homura, Kyuubey
Bottom row - Paisley McSquidderson, Sparkle McSquidderson, Charlotte, Mami

The "McSquidderson (TM)" name appears courtesy of starsandgraces, who came up with it.

If there's time, I also have a headcrab prototype, a jellyfish prototype, and bits for a Sulu.

So yeah. Let's see what happens!

Borrowing this gif from the cache of jactrades:



I FINISHED MAXWELL STREET HELL AND NOW I AM DONE AND AS GOD IS MY WITNESS I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN EVEN IF IT MEANS I HAVE TO FUCKING QUIT MY DAMN JOB IF I'M STILL TRAPPED IN IT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR

And now I can have my life back.

It wasn't as terrible as it could have been, I suppose, and the horrible heat wasn't so oppressive, at least while I was there. But I did get sweaty and on Friday my feet really hurt, and my boss was fairly useless but this was all expected.

I did get some good deals from other stores, and my favorite was being able to stuff a bag full of various fabric samples and other crafting goods for $5. I did it twice because yesterday they had old "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbooks with truly amazing pictures in them.

Anyway. Friday I also retrieved a timbean from the Navy, and now am waiting for her to wake up so we can go do...pretty much anything that isn't standing in a tent trying to get people to buy movies. Yesssss.